Thursday, January 29, 2009

It came a few days after my birthday. I'd forgotten that I mentioned it to him several months ago. So when I opened the box and saw the words NotFreres Poterie, I looked up in surprise, my mouth a big O. What a wonderful guy my Mr CC is. He must really, really love me.

OOOH! Cassoulet. Now I'm just miserable. I'd LOVE to get my hands on some right now. I'm sure the Frog would agree. I have a new computer at last! Hurrah. I hope to be around more often now since I won't be prodding Methuselah The Computer to live long enough for usage.

I really do have to warn other readers of purchasing cassoles through Kate Hill. I ordered one and it arrived poorly packed and in multiple pieces. After sending repeated e-mail messages to her it is now a month later and I have yet to receive a reply. :-(

I'm so sorry for your bad experience, John. Have you tried leaving her a comment on her blog? I think Kate travels around a lot and it may be that she hasn't checked her emails in a while. I'm sure she doesn't mean to neglect you. Perhaps her email address is misspelled or something. Good luck to you!

Thanks for the feedback Christine. I've left comments on more than one recent post on her blog but none have been approved and therefore do not show up on the blog. Kate has been posting new blog entries so I know that she has Internet access of some kind that works. I've send multiple e-mails to her four public e-mail addresses:

I realize that selling cassole pots is not Kate's main line of business but still ...despite the lack of urgency prevalent in the French countryside, one would expect some sort of short reply unless she happens to be convalescing in the hospital.

This is turning out to be one big bummer. I really wanted to use the pot to cook some cassoulet while the weather is still suitably chilly.

Anyway ...I'm glad that you were fortunate to receive the real thing ...intact.

Hi,I would like to pass on that I've just imported authentic cassoles from Poterie Not Freres in southwestern France. You can see them at this link: http://savoirvivreutensils.com/cassole.htmlThey're on hand now ready for shipping from my garage in Philadelphia.I made my first cassoulet as soon as the shipment arrived. It was quite an adventure, as I wasn't sure of the process. But it turned out wonderful, and the next time will be so much easier.Don't hesitate to be in touch if you have any questions.Carolann

Hi there, Jann. Sorry I missed your comment, and thanks! I have enjoyed cooking with it.

Dear Readers, especially John,As you can see by the comment left by Savoir Vivre, you can now buy the cassole from my post here in the US. They look to be about the same price as buying them through Kate, but you will save a lot on shipping, which cost Mr CC almost $100. I hope this helps you cassoulet makers who want to cook with the vrai cassole.

As of now (December of 2013) savoirvivreutensils.com has been sold out for a long time, and Poterie Not now seems to be selling their cassoles exclusively through:

http://www.le-marche-au-naturel.fr/

I just ordered the 8 serving size (which from reviews will likely really serve 6 or 7). Per Paula Wolfert a cassoulet takes so much time you may as well make a lot, so I was going to get the 10 serving size but it's really just a little bit larger and the cost of shipping it compared to the 8 serving size killed that idea.

As of this date, the following is what the 8 serving size cost (with shipping to me in San Francisco):

Price: 24.21 €Shipping: 57.55 €TVA: 16.02 €

TOTAL: 97.78 € (equal to $136.15 USD)

I was able to pay them through PayPal by contacting them (in English) and us working it out together.

A tip: You can open the web site to the page of the cassole, then type translate in Google, that will open Google Translate, and you can paste the URL into Google and translate it enough to follow shipping and cost.